Bodybuilders aren’t the only people who should strive to gain muscle mass. Increased muscle mass offers benefits for everyone’s physical appearance and health, regardless of gender and age. You can you pump iron, use resistance bands or push and pull your own bodyweight to build muscle that can help improve your quality of life.

Recommendations

After age 20, you lose approximately one-half pound of muscle per year, reports the American Council on Exercise. Lost muscle means greater increases in fat and less strength for the basic things you need to do every day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you participate in at least two strength-training sessions per week on non-consecutive days to help offset this loss and gain muscle mass. These sessions should address every major muscle group and consist of a minimum of eight to 12 repetitions of exercises using weights that make the last two or three repetitions very difficult.

Better Health and Function

Build muscle to help you manage the symptoms of many serious, chronic conditions. Having more muscle mass can ease the pain of osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, back pain, diabetes and obesity. Doing weight-bearing exercises to build muscle mass can also help build bone density which helps prevent and ease the symptoms of osteoporosis. Increased muscle mass usually means more strength, which can help you better perform activities of daily living.

Appearance

Muscle takes up less space and looks tighter than fat tissue. Add muscle mass to keep your body looking lean and toned. Increased muscle can make your clothes fit better and help you feel better about yourself, even if you don’t lose any weight. Muscle mass can also fill out a skinny frame healthfully.

Increased Metabolism

Having a greater percentage of muscle mass can make your body burn more calories at rest. Fat tissue burns very few calories because it doesn’t do anything to help your body move. Adding muscle to your frame can help you burn more calories daily – as much as 15 percent more -- supporting weight maintenance or loss.

References

About the Author

Andrea Cespedes is a professionally trained chef who has focused studies in nutrition. With more than 20 years of experience in the fitness industry, she coaches cycling and running and teaches Pilates and yoga. She is an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer, RYT-200 and has degrees from Princeton and Columbia University.